There were no massive surprises as the candidate qualifying period came to a close June 12, with nearly all of the candidates who filed to run for state and legislative office in Leon County officially making the ballot.
A pair of local incumbents, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor and Leon County School Board member Darryl Jones, were automatically re-elected after drawing no opposition by the time qualifying ended. Also re-elected without opposition were state Reps. Gallop Franklin, D-Tallahassee, and Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe.
Two other incumbents, County Commissioner Nick Maddox and School Board member Alva Smith, each drew a single write-in opponent, making their re-elections in November near foregone conclusions.
Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley couldn’t recall any write-in candidate ever winning election in Leon County. Their names don’t appear on ballots and must written in by voters, putting them at a huge disadvantage right off the bat.
“It’s a rarity that someone as a write-in candidate gets elected,” he said. “It’s a challenge.”
All four candidates for Tallahassee mayor, former lawmaker Loranne Ausley, political newcomer Michael Foust, City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and lawyer Daryl Parks all made the ballot.
Bernard Stevens, left, who filed to run for a City Commission seat, withdrew just before the candidate qualifying period ended at noon Friday, June 12, 2026.
So did six of the seven candidates who filed to run for City Commission Seat 3, the post Matlow is giving up as part of his bid for mayor. The race for the open seat drew more competitors than any other local contest.
A total of 40 candidates qualified in all for the local races, from city and county commission all the way down ballot to soil and water and community development districts, Earley said.
State Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, qualified for the District 9 House seat, as did two Republican challengers, Jibri Knight and Tracy Robinson. Three others who filed to run against Shoaf, Franklin and Tant all failed to qualify.
The three County Commission races will be decided in November. However, all three City Commission races will head to the Aug. 18 primary because each has more than two competitors. The top two vote-getters will move on to the Nov. 3 election unless one of them gets more than 50% of the vote, in which case they win outright.
Unlike years past, when party leaders and other politicos would gather at the Supervisor of Elections for the end of qualifying, the office was calm and virtually empty aside from staff when the noon deadline hit.
Just before noon, Bernard Stevens II, a candidate who filed to run for City Commission but raised no money, came in to officially withdraw.
“I just decided to withdraw because I have better opportunities ahead for me,” he said.
Leon Circuit Judges Tiffany Baker-Carper and Steven Everett and Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi-Richardson were automatically re-elected in April after they qualified without opposition. Circuit Judge Jason Jones is facing challenger Stephanie Cager in Group 7 while Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh is facing opponent Rashad Green in Group 13.
Candidates qualify for office by turning in paperwork, including their financial disclosures, and paying fees or submitting voter signatures. In a news release, Earley called on voters to participate in the upcoming elections.
“I encourage every eligible voter to use their voice in both the Primary and General Elections by casting their ballot,” he said. “If you are eligible and not yet registered to vote, now is the time to register and get election ready. Do not wait until the last minute.”
The deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation before the primary is July 20. For more information, visit LeonVotes.gov/RegisterToVote. To request a Vote-by-Mail ballot, visit LeonVotes.gov/RequestVBM.
Below is a list of candidates who either were re-elected or will appear on local ballots in August and November.
Leon County Commission at-large Group 2
Nick Maddox (incumbent): Qualified
Mehwish Rashid: Qualified as a write-in
Leon County Commission District 1
Bill Proctor (incumbent): Re-elected without opposition
Leon County Commission District 3
Charles Bryan Lorch: Qualified
Rick Minor (incumbent): Qualified
Leon County Commission District 5
David O’Keefe (incumbent): Qualified
Tallahassee City Commission Seat 3
Darryl “Dar Wavemaker” Alfred Jr: Qualified
Tom Derzypolski: Qualified
Talethia Edwards: Qualified
Alexander Moore: Did not qualify
Tallahassee mayor
Loranne Ausley: Qualified
Michael Foust: Qualified
Jeremy Matlow: Qualified
Tallahassee City Commission Seat 5
Dot Inman-Johnson: Qualified
Joe Kalicki: Did not qualify
Bernard Michael Stevens II: Withdrew
Dianne Williams-Cox (incumbent): Qualified
Leon County School Board District 1
James Richard Billingsley: Qualified as a write-in
Alva Smith (incumbent): Qualified
Leon County School Board District 3
Darryl Jones (incumbent): Re-elected without opposition
Leon County School Board District 5
Marcus Nicolas (incumbent): Qualified
James Reilly Jr.: Qualified
Florida House District 7
Jason Shoaf (Republican, incumbent): Re-elected without opposition
Angela Tracy Wiman (NPA): Did not qualify
Florida House District 8
Gallop Franklin (Democrat, incumbent): Re-elected without opposition
Aaron Ruddell (Independent Party): Did not qualify
Florida House District 9
Jibiri Knight (Republican): Qualified
Tracy Robinson (Republican): Qualified
Michael Sneed Jr. (Democrat): Did not qualify
Allison Tant (Democrat, incumbent): Qualified
U.S. House 2nd District
Yen Bailey (Democrat): Qualified
Brice Barnes (Democrat): Qualified
Amanda Marie Green (Democrat): Qualified
Keith Gross (Republican): Qualified
Nick Lewis (Republican): Qualified
Luke Murphy (Republican): Qualified
Jim Norton (Republican): Qualified
Evan Power (Republican): Qualified
Austin Rogers (Republican): Qualified
Audie Rowell (Republican): Qualified
Nicholas Zateslo (Democrat): Qualified
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee, Leon candidate qualifying ends for 2026 elections